Cops jail fraudsters
Detectives say cold call ruses being shut down
POLICE say they are winning the war against cold calling investment fraud on the Gold Coast – and getting into the heads of crooks.
Financial and Cyber Crime Group’s Detective Superintendent Terry Lawrence said the squad was “making inroads into the psyche” of people preying on mum and dad investors.
“They think they can get away with it and they can’t,” he said. “They’re looking at periods of incarceration from eight to 12 years. It’s steady, we’re locking people up.”
Det Supt Lawrence said his team had gleaned a good overview of the problem in Queensland during coercive hearings in 2016 and had charged six syndicates in the past three years, with six fraud rings also before courts. More were being closely monitored.
“They are very slick and have been doing it for quite some time,” Det Supt Lawrence said of cold-calling syndicates. “They have very slick brochures, very slick websites. They gain people’s confidence by getting more professional in what they do.
“But money has to change hands, it’s very traceable. They’re within reach of our grasp ... I think we’re winning.”
In 2015, Gold Coasters Liam Carlisle, 31, and Matthew Crouch, 34, were each sentenced to 10 years jail after fleecing about 400 people of $6 million over 12 months to December 2011.
The multi-agency Operation Juliet Dynamite ran for eight months and targeted five companies offering nonexistent investment opportunities. Recently, charges have been laid over an alleged $2.2 million property investor scam.
Det Supt Lawrence said it took a “full suite” of measures to finally lay charges.
“It’s been 11 months of solid going, with four officers giving 100 per cent,” he said.
Det Supt Lawrence advised Gold Coasters to ignore cold calls offering investment opportunities.